1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network communication system enabling sharing of definition information with other systems. More particularly, this invention is concerned with an art for enabling one of a plurality of systems interconnected over any network, such as a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), to share network definition information with other systems and for permitting a reduction in system management load resulting from modification of definition information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a network (for example, LAN) system, a plurality of host systems or equivalent systems (which will be referred to merely as systems) are interconnected. Herein, inter-system communication requires network definition information concerning a communication resource governed by each individual system (terminal or application program managed directly by each system, which will be referred to as self-system definition information) as well as network definition information concerning a communication resource governed by a partner system (terminal or application program managed directly by a partner system, which will be referred to as other-system definition information). In short, during communication, both systems have self-system definition information and other-system definition information concerning a partner system.
The other-system definition information is definition information resulting from a sort of mapping. Specifically, self-system definition information retained by a partner system is copied so that other-system definition information need not be created.
In a conventional known network communication system based on copied information, network definition information is usually created by defining a communication resource governed by a partner system with a network viewed by another system.
In the foregoing conventional network communication system, network definition information is defined with a network viewed by a particular system. Definition information concerning a communication resource governed by a partner system is therefore seen varying, depending on the location of the communication resource governed by the partner system, by that particular system.
An example of varying information is communication path information. Communication path information included in definition information copied from a partner system is defined with a network viewed by a distributor-side system (partner system) of the copied information but not defined with the network viewed by a copier-side system. The communication path information can therefore not be used as it is.
According to the conventional network communication system in which definition information is merely copied from a distributor-side system, the operation mode based on the communication system can apply only to a simple LAN system.